Berth and berth cover arrangement



April 41, E950 M. WATTER' ET AL 1 2,502,535

BERTH AND BERTH COVER ARRANGEMENT Filed Feb. 4, 1948 IN VEN TORS.

Mlchqel Warler' y John Clyon ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 4, 1950 BERTH AND BERTH COVER ARRANGEMENT Michael Watter, Philadelphia, and John 0. Lyon, Upper Darby, Pa., assignors to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 4, 1948, Serial No. 6,324

2 Claims.

The invention relates to movable berths, such as are used in railway sleeping cars and the like, and more particularly, to such berths as are made up for use at any desired time and, after they are made up, moved to a stowed position freeing for other uses the space which they occupied in use position. When desired for use, they are moved from the stowed to the use position by the user without the necessity of calling a porter.

In cases where such berths are made up a relatively long time before they are required for use, dust and dirt are liable to collect on the bed clothes, and this is likely to prove annoying to the subsequent user. Also, where the made-up berths are moved from the horizontal use position to a vertical position flanking a wall of the room, the bedding is likely to become disarranged and to make the berth still more disagreeable to the subsequent user. While means, such as straps, to hold the bedding in place have heretofore been proposed, it will be seen that such straps are ineffective to prevent dust and dirt reaching the bedding. Also, the disarranged bed clothes, after the bed has been occupied, are not readily retained by the straps and the average traveller is not inclined to arrange them in smooth fashion, so that when he attempts to move the berth out of the way for dressing, etc., the bed clothes may jam or otherwise interfere with the movement of the bed to stowed position, thereby rendering such movement difiicult, and in some cases, making it necessary for the user to call for a porter.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate these difficulties and to provide a made-up berth in which the bed clothes will remain clean, if stowed in clean condition, and securely held in place at the same time.

It is also an object of the invention to utilize the means which achieves the first object to form a protective shield when the bed is in use position between the user and the car side wall. This feature is of particular importance in cold weather, since it afiords protection against cold convection currents as well as avoiding direct contact with the cold metal of the side wall.

These objects are attained by providing a protective spread or cover of suitable flexible material, such as canvas or other sheet material, and stretching this cover over the entire berth,

2 and securing it in its margins to the margins of the berth.

According to the invention, at least a part of this cover is readily detachable and after detachment may be turned aside to expose the bedding for use. A convenient expedient for providing such ready detachment is to provide the cover with a slide fastener which can be readily and quickly released. The entire cover is also preferably made readily detachable from and attachable to the frame, so that it can be readily removed for washing and as readily replaced.

Other and further objects and advantages and the manner in which they are attained will become evident from the following detailed description when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic fragmentary perspective view of a railway car showing the invention applied to a bedroom thereof, the room being shown looking from the aisle toward the car side wall, parts of the inner or aisle wall being broken away to show the room interior; in this View, the berth is shown in use position with the protective cover turned back and secured along the car side wall;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic longitudinal vertical sectional view through the same room, on a smaller scale, showing the room made up for daytime use as a sitting room;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the berth in its relation to certain of the room walls, the berth being shown closed by the protective cover;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view, the section being taken substantially along the line l4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 showing the cover folded back and secured to the car side wall;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 but taken substantially along the line t5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially along the lines l-l of Figure 3.

In the drawings, the invention is shown applied to a berth arrangement used in railway sleeping cars, although it will be understood that it may be equally useful in other relations.

As shown, the berth, designated generally b I0, comprises a shallow box-like sheet metal frame having a bottom wall I l and marginal side walls l2 which may be curled over in their top margins to provide a smooth reinforced edge.

This berth is shown arranged in a room having a longitudinal car side wall I3 and a longitudinal center aisle wall M spaced therefrom, these longitudinal wall being interconnected by spaced transverse walls l5 and I6. The room is normally equipped to provide a sleeping room for nighttime occupancy and a sitting room for day time occupancy.

To this end, the berth is a foldable berth, which extends in this instance substantially the length of the room and is foldable about a hinge l1 against the transverse wall If: and into a recess l formed therein when the room is made up as a sitting room, as shown in Figure 2. A suitable longitudinally facing chair [8 is disposed in the room in front of the folded berth. When the berth is to be lowered to the use position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 and in full lines in Figure 1, the chair l8, which is preferably of a folding type, is folded down to a position under the use position of the berth.

The room may be provided with other accessories, such as a toilet and wash basin (not shown), shoe box I9, baggage rack 20, etc., for the comfort and convenience of the occupant.

A wide window 2! is provided in the car side wall portion of the room. This window is at a convenient height from the floor 22 and its lower margin is disposed some distance above the level of the top of the berth when the latter is in the horizontal use position.

It will be understood that the berth is suitably supported when in the use position, as by the hinge l! and a bracket or brackets 23 on the opposite transverse wall l6. Also, it is provided with suitable locking means (not shown) for looking it in either the use or the stowed position.

Such a berth is usually made up by the porter and then moved to the stowed position in such made-up condition so that it is ready for use when desired by merely swinging it about the hinge axis to the horizontal use position.

The bed-forming materials, shown more or less diagrammatically in the drawing, may comprise a thick mattress, such as a sponge rubber mattress 2 'l, and bed clothes 25, such as sheets, blankets, pillows, and pillow cases, all disposed within the open-top shallow box-like frame of the berth.

According to the invention, these bed materials are completely covered by a flexible cover or spread 26 which is stretched over the bed materials and secured in its margins, as by snap fasteners 21, to the inner faces of vertical sides I2 of the box-like frame of the berth H] (see Figures 4 to 7). This cover thus excludes dust and dirt from the bed clothes and at the same time holds the bed materials securely in the boxlike frame in the movement of the berth frame between use and stowed positions and while the berth is in the stowed position.

To enable the cover or the major part thereof to be readil turned back to expose the bed materials for use, a readily operable quick-detachable means is provided. Such means preferably comprises a slide fastener device 28. As shown, this slide fastener device extends from adjacent the outer margin i. e., the margin adjacent the car side wall, of the one end of the berth inwardly to a point adjacent the inner margin, and thence 4 longitudinally to the other end of the berth, and thence outwardly to adjacent the outer margin. as clearly shown in Figure 3. When the slide fastener is released, the major portion of the cover or spread 26 may be laid aside toward the car side wall to expose the bed materials for use.

To protect the occuptant of the berth against cold convection currents and to prevent direct contact with the cold car side wall, this laid-aside portion of the cover may be folded somewhat after the manner shown in Figure 5, and snap fastener elements 29 are provided along the length thereof for cooperation with mating snap fastener elements 30, Figures 2 and 5, provided on the car side wall just below the window opening. When these snap fastener elements are engaged as shown in Figures 1 and 5, a protective shield is provided between the side wall and the berth, this shield extending a substantial distance above the berth, thereby protecting the occupant of the bed against drafts issuing along the outer car side wall l3 and from direct contact with the cold metal of the side wall.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described herein in detail, it will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the main features of the invention, and such changes and modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a berth arrangement for use in a railway car or the like, a room defined by longitudinally extending car side and aisle walls and spaced transverse walls interconnecting said car side and aisle walls, a berth in said room movable between a horizontal use position extending lengthwise along the car side wall and a stowed position adjacent one of the room walls, said berth comprising a shallow box-like frame open on its one side, which is its top side when in use position, bed-forming materials, such as a mattress and bed clothes, disposed in said frame, and a flexible protective cover stretched over the open side of said frame, said cover being secured in its margins to the margins of said frame and retaining the bed-forming materials in said frame upon movement thereof between use and stowed positions, at least a portion of said cover being releasably secured adjacent the inner longitudinal margin of the bed so that when. released, a major portion of the cover may be folded against the car side wall so as to extend some distance above the bed and means for releasably securing it in such position.

2. In a berth arrangement for use in railway cars or the like, a room defined by longitudinally extending car side and aisle walls and spaced transverse walls interconnecting said car side and aisle walls, a berth in said room movable between a horizontal use position extending lengthwise along the car side wall and a stowed position adjacent one of the room walls, said berth comprising a shallow generally rectangular box-like frame open on its one side, which is its top side when in use position, bed-fonning materials, such as a mattress and bed clothes, disposed in said frame, and a flexible protective cover stretched over the open side of said frame, said cover being secured in its margins to the margins of said frame and retaining the bed-forming materials in said frame upon movement thereof between use and stowed positions, and a slide fastener device extending adjacent the margins of the berth continuously from a point at one end of the berth adjacent the outer longitudinal margin thereof to the inner REFERENCES CITED longitudinal margin, thence longitudinally to the The following references are of record in the other end of the berth and outwardly at that file of this patent: end of a point adjacent the outer longitudinal margin of the berth at that end, the release of 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS said slide fastener device freeing the major por- Number Name Date tion of the cover for securement to the outer side 667,439 Hall Feb. 5, 1901 wall of the car so as to extend from the berth a 737,561 Arnold Sept. 1, 1903 substantial distance thereabove, and means for releasably so securing it when the berth is in the 10 FOREIGN PATENTS use position. Number Country Date MICHAEL WATT 662.966 France Mar. 29, 1929 JOHN C. LYON. 

